Raelene Sharp | |
---|---|
![]() | |
9th Director of the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions | |
Assumed office 4 December 2023 | |
Nominated by | Mark Dreyfus,attorney-general of Australia |
Preceded by | Hon Justice Sarah McNaughton SC |
Career | |
Personal details | |
Nationality | Australian |
Education |
|
Alma mater | |
Profession | Lawyer |
Raelene Sharp KC is an Australian barrister. She was solicitor appointed as the Director of the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in December 2023. [1] Sharp's diverse work has seen her advise and act in domestic and international investigative and regulatory matters, including in Lebanon for the United Nations. [2]
Sharp's formal qualifications include degrees from Monash University, [3] the University of Melbourne [4] and Leiden University. [5] Sharp completed her articles at the Victorian Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions in 2000. [6]
Sharp was called to the Victorian Bar in 2010, reading with Mark Rochford QC and Stephen Donaghue QC . [7] Sharp has been awarded an Indictable Crime Certificate [8] and was appointed senior counsel ("took Silk") in 2022, with letters-patent for King's counsel the following year. [9]
Sharp earned an (Honours) Arts degree in linguistics from Monash University in 1998. [10] She has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws in public international law – international criminal law (cum laude) from Leiden University. [4] [11]
Sharp "has over 20 years of experience in both domestic and international legal domains," [12] specialising in criminal law, investigative law and administrative law. After completing her articles, Sharpe moved to the Netherlands to further her legal education. [12]
Raelene Sharp's career began as a prosecutor at the state Director of Public Prosecutions (Victoria) (DPP). After two years, Sharp moved to the Netherlands to complete a Master's in public international law, specialising in international criminal law. [11]
Sharp represented Leiden University as an advisor to John Dugard, the Special Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights on violation of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. In the "International Law Commission Annual Report (2003)" the Special Rapporteur John Dugard "acknowledged, with gratitude" the work undertaken by Sharp on the report into the "Diplomatic protection of corporations and shareholders". [13]
Sharp returned to Melbourne and the OPP for a short time before moving to the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) in 2004. [14] From 2006 until 2009, Sharp was legal officer at the United Nations in Lebanon, working on the investigation into the assassination of Rafic Hariri, the former prime minister, and a number of other related assassinations under the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. [10] Upon her return to Australia in 2009 she resumed her work at the Victoria DPP for a short time, before moving to the Australian Crime Commission (ACC). [a] The ACC appointed her their principal specialist lawyer in 2005. [15] [16]
Sharp was asked to return to the Middle East as a Special Rapporteur and a member of an independent fact-finding commission, instituted by the Arab League, looking into Israel's Gaza War "Operation Cast Lead", under the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The investigation focused on the Israeli operation in December and January 2009. [17]
Sharp was called to the Victorian Bar in 2010, reading with Mark Rochford QC and Stephen Donaghue QC . [18] Peter Hanks QC was Raelene Sharps senior mentor. Raelene Sharp experience and seniority has now seen her read for applicants seeking to become barristers & being called to the Bar. [19] [20] [21]
Described as the "ultimate prize for most barristers", [22] "taking silk" and obtaining the "coveted" [23] title Kings Council/Senior Council is an extremely detailed and rigorous process. The Victorian Bar tells us it involves the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, [24] the Chief Justice (https://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/news/announcement-of-the-retirement-of-the-chief-justice-of-victoria) Anne Ferguson, [25] consults the heads of over 15 national and state judicial bodies to determine whether a legal professional whose skill, integrity, independence, and standing in the profession justify an expectation on the part of the public and the judiciary that they will provide outstanding services, as counsel, to the administration of justice. [26] [27]
Sharp has also worked at the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) – under former CDPP and criminal law guru Mark Weinberg KC. Sharp also worked as counsel assisting the special investigator appointed to investigate possible breaches of the laws of armed conflict allegedly committed by members of the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016. [28]
Sharp was already experienced in the CDPP prior to being appointed as director, appearing for the CDPP in many complex and sensitive cases. [29] Sharp was appointed by the CDPP to be the crown prosecutor for the prosecution of a $100M+ tax fraud scheme, the largest tax fraud case in Australia's history. [30] [31] [32] [33] The investigation and prosecution of the conspiracy syndicate resulted in seven guilty pleas and seven found guilty at trial. [32]
Sharp sits on the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Forum, the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce. [34] and the Commonwealth Association of Directors. She meets regularly with the heads of Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, National Legal Aid. [35] and the various partner agencies who refer matters for prosecution to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
A King's Counsel is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Queen's Counsel (QC).
The title of senior counsel or state counsel is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictions that have chosen to change the title "King's Counsel" to a name without monarchical connotations, usually related to the British monarch that is no longer head of state, such that reference to the King is no longer appropriate. Examples of jurisdictions that have made the change because of the latter reason include Mauritius, Zambia, India, Hong Kong, Ireland, South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Singapore, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Jurisdictions that have retained the monarch as head of state, but have nonetheless opted for the new title include some states and territories of Australia, as well as Belize.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Ian Douglas Temby is an Australian barrister. He was the first Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and the first Commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption. He conducted the Royal Commission into the Finance Broking Industry in Western Australia in 2001.
Damian John Bugg is an Australian barrister who served as the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions between 1999 and 2007. Prior to this appointment, he was the Tasmanian Director of Public Prosecutions from July 1986 to 1999. In 2005, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the law. He served as Chancellor of the University of Tasmania between 2006 and 2012.
Devilling is the custom of more senior self employed barristers/advocates making use of their junior’s services to complete briefs belonging to the more senior barrister/advocate, usually without the knowledge of the attorney. Not to be confused with the period of training called pupillage or junior work undertaken by a person wishing to become an advocate in one of the English-speaking common law systems of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, and Australia.
Crown prosecutors are the public prosecutors in the legal system of Australia. In Western Australia, they are referred to as State prosecutors.
Mark Alfred Dreyfus is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. Dreyfus is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and has been the MP for Isaacs since the 2007 election.
Lex Lasry is an Australian lawyer and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria from 2007 to 2018. He also sat as a reserve judge from 2018 until his retirement as a reserve judge in February 2024.
Peter Ross Hayes, QC, was a prominent barrister in Melbourne, Australia. He was a director of the Melbourne Football Club from 2000 to 2003.
Michael Rozenes is the former Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria, an intermediate court in Victoria, Australia. He presided over the County Court for thirteen years, retiring in June 2015.
Ross Ray QC was an Australian barrister and the President of the Law Council of Australia.
John Digby is an Australian lawyer and a judge in the Supreme Court of Victoria, in the Australian state of Victoria.
Simon Molesworth is an Australian barrister and environmentalist. He has been a director of some 22 corporations and chairman or president of 14.
The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of Australia, as a part of the Attorney-General's Department. It was established by the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 (Cth) and began its operations in 1984.
Ian Freckelton is an Australian barrister, former judge of the Supreme Court of Nauru, international academic, and high-profile legal scholar and jurist. He is known for his extensive writing and speaking in more than 30 countries on issues related to health law, expert evidence, criminal law, tort law, therapeutic jurisprudence and research integrity. Freckelton is a member of the Victorian Bar Association, the Tasmanian Bar Association, and the Northern Territory Bar Association in Australia.
Stephen Hall is an Australian jurist who is a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. He was appointed to the general (trial) division of the court in 2009. In 2022, he was appointed as a permanent judge of the appeal division of the Court.
Elizabeth Lillian Fullerton is an Australian lawyer, specialising in criminal law, who has been a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales since February 2007.
Robert James Bromwich is a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, serving since 29 February 2016. He has also served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island since May 2024 and as an Additional Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory since 5 September 2016, and was a part-time Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission from 10 April 2019 to 30 April 2020, sitting on its Inquiry on Corporate Crime.
Sarah McNaughton is an Australian judge and former barrister who has served as a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales since 11 October 2022. Prior to her appointment to the judiciary, she served as the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions from 16 May 2016 to 2 September 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) This article incorporates text by www.cdpp.gov.au available under the CC BY 3.0 AU licence.